


The Language of Flowers

by birdbrainberke



Series: Florals [1]
Category: ASTRO (Band)
Genre: I swear to god eunwoo will be in the sequel, M/M, apparently i can't just involve him in the group from the beginning?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-03
Updated: 2017-05-11
Packaged: 2018-10-27 04:57:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,448
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10802217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/birdbrainberke/pseuds/birdbrainberke
Summary: Minhyuk is thrilled that he has a secret admirer, but according to Bin, the flowers he's receiving don't have anything to do with love. Minhyuk's not convinced, but as far as Bin's concerned, Minhyuk's admirer may actually hate him.





	1. Disappointment

**Author's Note:**

  * For [moonbinsonesie](https://archiveofourown.org/users/moonbinsonesie/gifts).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minhyuk gets flowers, which makes him happy, but Bin ruins it, which makes him not like Bin anymore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a prompt from moonbinsonesie's "[astro idea book](http://archiveofourown.org/works/9795737/chapters/22643891)" so go check that out. :)
> 
> Also, I posted this to force myself to write more so I can update and not be _that guy_ and never update, so yay for weird methods of motivation.
> 
> Edit: There were so many typos omg... I think I caught them all, but that's unlikely, so lmk if you find more!

Minhyuk didn’t know who in his school could pick locks, but obviously someone could, because they’d picked his.

At first, he hadn’t realized anything was different. He grabbed his chemistry book and started down the hall, and only when he was halfway to class did his brain process that there had been something new on top of his chem book.

He turned sharply, swerved around a pair of students who hadn’t expected him to suddenly reverse directions, and returned to his locker, where he found a bouquet of yellow flowers that he was about 80% sure he hadn’t put there.

Attached to the bouquet was a note, which made his eyes widen and his heart beat faster.

 

_These make me think of you!!_

_\-- Your secret admirer_

 

Minhyuk had never had an admirer, secret or not, so he wasn’t sure what he should do next. Breathing was good, and he apparently had stopped doing that, so he started again. Beyond that, though, he had nothing, and staring blankly at the bouquet wasn’t helping him figure anything out.

He looked around to see if someone nearby was obviously his admirer, but no one was holding a conspicuous sign with his name surrounded by hearts. Of course they weren’t--who’d be dumb enough to stick around if they were a _secret_ admirer?--and no one seemed to notice him standing at his locker with a bouquet in his hand.

He looked back at the note, and turned it over in the hopes that the secret admirer would have left a name. They hadn’t, predictably, and Minhyuk sighed. While the mystery didn’t take away the giddiness he felt over having someone crush on him, he didn’t like the uncertainty of it all. After all, what if it was someone he couldn’t like back?

He wondered if it was a girl, and he frowned. A girl was the most likely answer, and he didn’t like the idea of having to let someone down. Having to be vague about the reason would complicate matters, but he didn’t think the truth--that he was only into boys--would be well received.

Maybe it was better that he didn’t know. Maybe the secret, he reasoned, should stay a secret.

Except, the optimist in him argued, what if it _was_ a boy? What if, despite keeping to himself in the hopes that no one would discover his secret, there was someone like him? The idea of coffee dates and trashy movies had always sounded fantastic, but until now it had never seemed like a viable option. Perhaps in college, but while he was stuck in high school, he didn’t think he’d be so lucky.

Perhaps now that was changing.

Minhyuk smiled as he smelled the flowers and decided that yes, this was a secret worth exploring.

His next thought was Bin, since Bin was the solution to most of his problems.

**_Me:  i got flowers. They were in my locker_ **

Bin normally took hours to respond to texts, but Minhyuk’s phone vibrated within seconds.

**_Jerkface: at work. Come here when schools out. need details like whoa_ **

Minhyuk nodded in response as if Bin could see him. Yes, Bin would know what to do. Everyone loved Bin, so he was probably used to secret admirers. Surely he had ways to figure out who this anonymous person was. Handwriting analysis, or fingerprints. Or maybe he was half bloodhound and could sniff out the admirer. Bin was good like that.

Feeling more confident that they would figure this out quickly and that he would soon have a boyfriend he could shower with affection, Minhyuk headed to class, smiling widely, bouncing slightly, and still clutching the bouquet in his hand.

\----------

As soon as school ended, Minhyuk headed for the flower shop that Bin’s family owned. At this time of day, Bin’s grandma would be napping, so Bin would be alone to man the store.

When Minhyuk walked into the shop, Bin’s expression changed, and though he quickly turned his attention back to the customer he was helping, it was obvious that he was trying to rush her.

Because Bin would still be a few minutes, Minhyuk sat down on the floor and studied his flowers. They were yellow and pretty and they smelled nice, and Minhyuk imagined that his secret admirer was also pretty and smelled nice.

“You never smile that much,” Bin said to Minhyuk after the customer left. He held out his hand to Minhyuk, who handed over the flowers as he sprung up and dug in his pocket for the note.

“This came with it,” he said, handing the note to Bin as well. Bin took it and returned to the counter without saying anything. Minhyuk followed closely, waiting for Bin to dazzle him with his plan to figure out who the secret admirer was.

“These need water,” Bin said simply, and he busied himself with getting a vase and plant food.

Minhyuk frowned. Bin’s lack of enthusiasm was strange. Bin was either grumpy or excited. Sometimes he was angry. But he was never just...even.

“You’re not saying anything,” Minhyuk said as Bin took longer than necessary to cut the ends of the flowers and arrange them in a vase.

“Because I’m keeping them from wilting,” he said unconvincingly.

“I got flowers, Bin.”

“I see that, Minhyuk.”

“And?”

“They’re pretty.”

Minhyuk cocked his head to the side. That was definitely not the normal Bin. Maybe Bin was so used to secret admirers and surprise flowers that he was bored with it? It was possible, but even if this sort of thing bored him when it happened to him, he’d normally be more excited for Minhyuk.

Bin looked up to see Minhyuk still staring at him, head still cocked to the side, and he sighed. “What?”

“Your face is doing a thing.”

Bin stared at Minhyuk for a beat before sighing again and plopping the flowers unceremoniously in the vase. “Okay, it’s just... These are yellow carnations.”

Minhyuk nodded and waited for Bin to explain why that was relevant.

“There’s this thing called flower language, right? Certain flowers mean certain things, and we make a point here of helping people pick arrangements based on what they want to say, and, well..." He trailed off and reached under the counter. He pulled out an old handmade book, its pages yellowing and stuffed full of photos and pressed flowers. “Okay, you know my grandma’s all--” Bin waved his hand vaguely, and Minhyuk nodded. “She started this years ago and updates it pretty regularly with all sorts of stuff about each type of flower, the types of people who buy them, all that.”

Relying on what Minhyuk assumed was muscle memory and an uncanny familiarity with the book, Bin opened the book to an apparently random page, and on it was a hand-drawn carnation.

He turned the book around to Minhyuk and pointed to a note scrawled in the margin. “Yellow carnations mean disappointment.”

Minhyuk scrunched up his face and looked down at the book, then at the note that Bin had set down on the counter. “These make me think of you,” he read out loud, then looked up at Bin, who was frowning. “So you think I’ve disappointed someone?”

Bin shook his head with a bit too much energy. “No way. You’re all dependable and stuff. It’s probably nothing, and not every flower shop buys into flower language.” Bin was shoving the book back under the counter and pointedly avoiding looking at Minhyuk. “Whoever got these must have thought they looked pretty and that’s why they thought of you.”

Bin wasn’t a good liar, and Minhyuk could tell that even Bin didn’t believe what he was saying. Minhyuk supposed he appreciated the attempt, but as he collected his flowers and the note, he found himself wishing he hadn’t come to talk to Bin at all.

The bell above the door rang as a customer walked in, and Bin greeted the man before quickly turning back to Minhyuk.

“Don’t stress about it,” he said with a pointed look. “You’re awesome. Someone likes you, and that’s a good thing.”

\----------

Minhyuk was pretty sure Bin was stupid, because no one in high school would take the flower language thing seriously. Minhyuk doubted anyone even knew it existed, so it was reasonable to assume that his secret admirer was actually an admirer.

He put the vase of flowers on the desk in his room, and as he stared at them, he couldn’t help but hear Bin’s voice in the back of his head.

They were pretty, and he couldn’t imagine anyone would really send him a hate bouquet, but maybe, just maybe, he had actually pissed someone off badly enough that they figured out how to break into his locker to leave him an obscure sign of displeasure.

He rolled his eyes. That was stupid. There was no way, and after he snapped a picture and posted it online, he texted Bin.

**_Me: you suck and the flowers are pretty and someone likes me so shut up_ **

His phone notified him that a couple people liked his photo at the same time Bin responded.

**_Jerkface: i literally told you that no one buys into that so why do i suck???_ **

_For making me doubt myself_ , Minhyuk thought, but he didn’t say that. He didn’t say anything. He’d text Bin tomorrow, maybe, but for now he was going to sleep, and he was going to enjoy his flowers, because for the first time in his life, he had proof that someone liked him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently in my head Minhyuk and Bin are always jerks to each other, but it’s okay, because they really do love each other. I feel like they’re ironically NO HOMO about emotions with each other considering they’re both very very homo? And apparently this is gonna happen in like every iteration of them I write because I’m not creative? Or I can claim “consistency” and make it look intentional. Yeah, we’ll go with that one.
> 
> Hit me up on [Tumblr](http://payneinthearsenal.tumblr.com) because I'm perpetually bored at work.


	2. Disdain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Minhyuk gets more flowers, Bin continues to not be helpful, and Myungjun decides he’s going to be helpful whether Minhyuk wants him to or not.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I struggled with it, and I'll admit it's not my best work. But I've been stuck on it for so long, I wanted to get it done, since I'm notorious for sitting around and not doing anything when the block hits me. I'm considering this an exercise in _just friggin doing it_ , so I hope it's not too distractingly bad.

For three days, Minhyuk vacillated between confidence and self doubt as he weighed the improbability that someone liked him against the improbability that anyone but Bin knew anything about flower language.

At first, despite Bin’s meddling, he had been convinced that someone out there liked him. And even if it was someone he wasn’t interested in, it was still flattering.

But the more Minhyuk thought about it and the more Bin tried to backtrack--to reassure Minhyuk that of _course_ someone liked him--the more he began doubting himself.

Bin had always been weirdly insightful for someone who never appeared to pay attention to anything, so it wasn’t unreasonable that he’d be right about this. Even if no one else their age was enough of a grandpa to know about flower language, a quick internet search on “hate flowers” would probably surface several results.

The doubts, however, evaporated when, three days after the carnations appeared, he found another bouquet in his locker with another note tied to a bright yellow string.

 

_How I feel every time I see you. One day I’ll tell you in person._

_\-- Your secret admirer_

 

He smiled stupidly as he picked up the orange bouquet and smelled it. Surely this couldn’t be anything but a romantic gesture, he reasoned, not with how pretty the flowers were. And the note? How could that be anything but good?

“How I feel..." Minhyuk read out loud. It sounded innocent enough, but depending on the meaning of the flowers themselves, that could change.

(He hated himself for even thinking that flowers could mean anything symbolic, and he hated Bin for putting that idea in his head.)

Minhyuk automatically reached for his phone, but he paused before he started typing. He wanted to share his giddiness, but since Bin had ruined the first bouquet for him, he wanted to avoid another letdown.

Still, if he didn’t involve Bin, Bin would pout, and Bin’s pouting was annoying.

After a few minutes of debate, he decided that Bin’s pout wasn’t enough to sway him. His own curiosity, however, was, and so he snapped a picture of the flowers, took a second picture of the note, and sent them to Bin along with a question mark.

This time, Bin wasn’t fast, and Minhyuk was halfway through chemistry before Bin responded. He was too curious not to look--he couldn’t not know immediately if this was something wonderful or horrible--so he angled himself to hide his phone from the teacher.

He groaned audibly when he was the response, but it wasn’t enough to draw attention, luckily, because if it had, he wasn’t sure how he’d have explained Bin’s response.

**_Jerkface: sorry min. orange lilies = hatred or disdain._ **

\----------

Minhyuk had tried to be optimistic, but faced with this new evidence, it really did look like the flowers weren’t from an admirer.

“How I feel..." he repeated to himself as he walked from school to the flower shop, the bouquet hanging limply by his side. If Bin was right--if the flowers really did symbolize hatred--then the note made sense. Of course, there could be other meanings that would also make sense with the note, but so far, Minhyuk only had the one.

Bin didn’t say anything when Minhyuk flopped down on the couch in the back room of the flower shop and began flipping lazily through a magazine, his new bouquet abandoned on the small coffee table. Bin’s grandma greeted him when she walked by, but otherwise she ignored him, as if he were an employee who was supposed to be lounging in the back room.

Bin didn’t come find him for ten minutes; when he did, he tossed his phone onto Minhyuk’s stomach.

 

**_Me: Min’s sad._ **

**_Myung: On our way._ **

**_Jinwoo: why do I not get a say in this?_ **

**_Myung: because you won’t say no?_ **

**_Myung: plus im gonna be there? I dont understand the question._ **

 

“I’m not sad,” Minhyuk said as he handed Bin’s phone back to him. Bin, very obviously, didn’t believe him. “I just don’t want you to be right.”

Bin nodded. “This one time, I hope I’m not, ‘cause let’s be real, you need a boyfriend.”

Minhyuk glared, but all he could come up with was “It might be a girl who likes me.”

Bin nodded. “Maybe, but she’d have to be pretty stupid. The gay wafts off you.”

Minhyuk decided he didn’t need the pillow he was using because hitting Bin was more important. He thwacked Bin’s leg, and Bin let out a squeal as he hopped out of the way.

“Yeah, it wafts off _me_...” he muttered, and Bin grabbed the pillow and hit Minhyuk over the head.

The pillow fight would have devolved into hair pulling if it weren’t for a customer arriving. Bin got one last hit in before hurrying out of the room, leaving Minhyuk annoyed, out of breath, and still no closer to figuring out what to do with his mystery admirer.

\----------

Jinwoo and Myungjun took thirty minutes to get to the shop, which was remarkable considering they shared an apartment that was, at most, five minutes away.

“I had to get ready,” Myungjun said, and Jinwoo rolled his eyes.

“You changed shirts four times.”

None of this was a surprise--Minhyuk didn’t know how Jinwoo wasn’t used to it yet--but Myungjun ignored Jinwoo and instead suggested they go out to discuss Minhyuk’s problem.

Bin objected because he had work, but Myungjun quickly charmed Bin’s grandma into letting Bin take the evening off.

It wasn’t until they were outside, Myungjun’s arm linked through Bin’s, that Minhyuk realized that they were going to the café across the street from the flower shop, the one that made Bin turn a vibrant shade of red.

Minhyuk didn’t feel sorry for Bin as splotches spread across Bin’s face, since Bin ruined flowers for him and told their friends that he was sad. He wanted Bin to suffer, and when the dark-haired boy behind the counter greeted them as they entered, Bin looked like he wanted to turn and run away.

Minhyuk knew that Bin wouldn’t be able to, though, because his stress response was to freeze. When it was obvious Bin wasn’t going to do anything but stare awkwardly, Myungjun steered him toward a seat and bounded off to order coffee or pastries or some monstrosity with hearts that would embarrass Bin even more.

Myungjun passed the time talking about random things--his new favorite TV show, the centerpieces on the tables that he knew Bin had arranged because the cute coffee boy had asked, the way that he was sick of being single and hey Jinwoo maybe you can do something about that?--until the coffee boy brought over the order. He spent a few extra seconds bent over Bin, smiling at Bin, attempting to talk to Bin, but Bin was practically catatonic, and Myungjun just thanked the boy on Bin’s behalf.

The boy didn’t seem deterred, and as he headed back to the counter, he made a point to stop and look at Bin several times.

Minhyuk almost wanted to believe that Myungjun was sufficiently distracted with Bin’s love life, that he could manage to get out of this excursion unscathed, but Myungjun possessed an impressive ability to multitask when meddling was involved.

“Why’re you sad, Min-min?” he asked before taking a small sip of his coffee.

Minhyuk groaned more loudly than he’d meant to. He hated when Myungjun called him Min-min, and he was fairly certain he only kept doing it to annoy him.

“Someone’s sending him flowers,” Bin volunteered before Minhyuk could respond. Apparently, Bin could quickly become functional when someone else was the focus of Myungjun’s torture. Minhyuk glared at him, but he was too busy finding the pictures of the flowers on his phone to notice.

“Oh, exciting!” Myungjun said, clapping his hands together and bouncing in his seat.

“And that’s making you sad?” Jinwoo asked, his face scrunched up in confusion.

“It’s Bin’s fault,” Minhyuk grumbled, and with no further explanation, both Jinwoo and Myungjun turned to stare accusingly at Bin.

“Hey! I’m not the one sending him hate flowers.” Bin held out his phone for his friends to see. “These mean ‘disappointment,’ and these--” he swiped to the lilies “--mean ‘disdain.’”

Myungjun gasped at the revelation. Jinwoo raised an eyebrow.

“That’s horrible!” Myungjun said.

“That’s stupid,” Jinwoo said at the same time.

Myungjun, either not hearing or not paying attention to Jinwoo, slammed his fist on the table and stood up, which Minhyuk assumed was to enhance the dramatic effect. “We will defend Min-min’s honor!”

Jinwoo looked torn between walking away and hitting Myungjun. Bin reflexively looked to the coffee boy, presumably to see if Myungjun had drawn his attention. Minhyuk looked at each of them in turn, and he noticed that the coffee boy was definitely staring, but not at Myungjun.

“My honor’s fine, thanks,” Minhyuk eventually said, slumping slightly, but Myungjun shook his head vigorously.

“Nope. Uh-uh. We’re fixing this.”

“You want to, what, stake out Minhyuk’s locker and wait for the culprit?” Jinwoo shook his head and went for a sip of his tea.

Minhyuk could practically taste the sarcasm, but Myungjun simply nodded. “That’s exactly what I want to do, actually.”

That made Jinwoo begin choking, which made the coffee boy look away from Bin and at the customer who may or may not have been dying.

“The hell?” Jinwoo choked out at the same time Bin asked, “And how exactly are you gonna pull that off?”

“Simple!” Myungjun’s smile suggested he’d put significant thought into his plan, which was impressive considering he’d had no more than two minutes to put it together. “Min, when do the flowers show up in your locker?”

“Before chemistry,” Minhyuk said. “Last period.”

“Perfect. So, Jinwoo and I, dressed up in your spare academic finery, will sneak in, blend in with the students, and stake out your locker to catch the culprit!”

Jinwoo looked at Myungjun like he had several heads of different shapes and sizes; Bin looked up and down Myungjun’s body, presumably assessing how he’d fit his shortness into Minhyuk’s more normal sized uniform; and Minhyuk aggressively shook his head, because the idea was terrible and he wanted them to forget it immediately. “You realize that you’re well beyond high school age and you _will_ get caught and probably arrested? There are several levels of bad with this idea.”

Bin nodded. “All the levels are creepy, if we’re being honest.”

Jinwoo nodded, too. “And _why_ are you dragging me into this?”

Myungjun glared at Jinwoo. “Because I’m gonna be there? Obviously?”

Minhyuk couldn’t help but smirk at Myungjun’s wounded look. When they were done solving his problems, he decided they should work out how to get Myungjun and Jinwoo together, because that almost-romance had been dragging on for far too long.

Of course there was also Bin to deal with, but watching him pine after the coffee boy gave Minhyuk a sick sort of satisfaction, and he wasn’t sure he was ready to give that up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Silver lining? The next chapter was way easier to write, so there's that. :p
> 
> Keep me from boredom at work and talk to me on [Tumblr](http://payneinthearsenal.tumblr.com).


End file.
